It was going to be a tough assignment for any Latinx performers to follow JLo’s renditions of “This Land is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful” at Wednesday’s (Jan. 20) presidential inauguration, but singers like Luis Fonsi and Ozuna were up to the challenge at the Celebrate America special later that evening.
Dominican, Puerto Rican singer Ozuna performed his hit song “Taki Taki” virtually, before Luis Fonsi transitioned in to sing his own big hit, “Despacito.”
During the special, host and two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump) introduced Broadway superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) from his Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City. Miranda recited excerpts from the poem “The Cure at Troy” by Irish poet and playwright Seamus Heaney.
Miranda would return later for a quick virtual cameo during Demi Lovato’s performance of Bill Wither’s song “Lovely Day.” Earlier in the special, labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta participated in the event by reading part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address from 1933.
“This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper,” Huerta read. “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief, that they only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Other performers who participated in Celebrate America special included Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry and John Legend.
Watch the entire Celebrate America primetime special below.
